Chapter Text
It is cacophany that reaches my ears as I walk along the paved stone path towards the gates of Bellafonte Academy. The sounds of footsteps and luggage rattle and clack and all around put me on edge. There are simply too many sounds and too many variables to keep track of.
Beside me strides my uncle, my greatest and only ally in the past 18 years of my suffering. 18 years of looking over my shoulder, peering into shadows to ensure one of my siblings hadn't hid in waiting, ensuring that any and all I talked to hadn't a concealed blade, garotte or bludgeon up their sleeve.
It was not a peaceful childhood, though it was not many who were afforded such a luxury, least of all a member of a Family.
The footfalls of Uncle Ethan shook the ground and obscured the sun from my vision where it rose in the west. There were those who stared, naturally, it was not common to meet a full caster, let alone one sharing the form of a Mythical Creature.
For many this would be an event they would return home, to their hamlets and homesteads, and gossip about, sharing the story of the time they had seen a Collosi in person.
But then again, all who walked atop the road to Bellafonte were adjacent to the future makers of history, and perhaps that in its own right was more impressive.
The gates of Bronze and Silver loom overhead, large ornate bars laid vertical were more of a metaphorical and symbolic division between the outside world and the world of intense academia.
Bellafonte resided at the very outskirts of the town which shared its name and could be reached with a short 20 minute or so walk.
The town itself was rather simple, mundane even. There were no flying girls on broomsticks nor everyday citizens utilising magic for daily tasks, instead they were average, non-human casters, as was the majority of the population of Town Bellafonte.
A small woman, a foot smaller than me perhaps, approached the gate from the opposite side. Atop her head drooped a wide brimmed hat, typical of witches, the dip of which obscured soft eyes with green irises.
In the attire of a barmaid, she approached with only kindness and familiarity in her smile, for a moment I thought she was a student before she craned her head upwards, keeping her hat fixed to her head with a hand and shouted "Hello, Ethan!"
Her voice was light and airy, and the angle of her hat let me catch a batter look at her face. Framed by long platinum locks was the epitome of 'cute', a permanent flush smattered across her face. Slender limbs that looked like they might break under a particularly strong breeze and the dangerously youthful attitude she exuded gave me the impression that she was quite well sought after.
Innocent, was the word that came to mind.
"Hello, Miss Black." My uncle boomed, his voice sounding closer to that of thunder rumbling than any real words.
She giggled and waved her hand playfully, charmed by the honourific, "You can call me Cora, you know," bringing a hand up to her cheek.
"Of course, Cora." He leaned down, getting his head closer to the ground to hopefully disturb less of the nearby population.
"So, what brings you here? Just missing your old tutor?" She clasped her hands together by her waist and made herself look cuter.
"I'm actually dropping off my Niece."
Only then did Cora actually turn to look at me, eyes locking with mine for a moment, an overwhelming urge to look away filled me but my body didn't listen.
"Oh! You must be Miss Locust! We've been waiting for you." She chirped, then looked back up to Uncle Ethan, "I'm so sorry but you'll have to stay out here, the only full casters allowed on school grounds are students and faculty."
He rumbled in agreement and rose to his full height, easily towering over Castle Bellafonte as he did so. "Sorry, Carrie, this is where we part."
I nodded, finality washing over me, it wouldn't be the last time I saw him but it would be the last time he would protect me and I had to acknowledge that.
"Keep her safe, Cora."
"I can't promise that but I'll make sure she won't die!" She paused and thought to herself for a moment, "Before you go, do you think you could step on me?"
Huh?
My eyebrows furrowed and I watched my uncle chuckle, turn around and stomp the ground where Cora was standing moments ago, a spray of blood escaping from the arch of his foot and between his toes.
In awe and shock I just stood there.
My uncle had just killed a teacher at Bellafonte in cold blood, without even thinking twice.
At her request no less.
Then, slowly, the blood was drawn back towards the foot which rose above the ground to its original position. Big splotches of red coalescing, forming organs, bones, muscles. A person shaped from nothing. Skin wrapped them in sheets before sealing around the joints.
Then consciousness struck her violently, an erotic scream ripping from her throat before descending into moans as her legs shook. I didn't dare look as I saw something reflective running down her leg.
Fighting the urge to step back I just weathered the sexual explosion occurring next to me.
It took her a moment or two to regain her composure, at which point she acted like nothing had happened.
The two exchanged parting words, all of which went over my head, then guided by Cora, I walked past the gates of Bellafonte towards the castle, my body on autopilot.
Inside was an antechamber, the entirety of Castle Bellafonte being a hollow expanse for the Gate, the tear in reality that bridged our world to that of the school's.
It too, I stepped through in autopilot.
I was here. I was at Bellafonte Academy.
Several hours later I waited in my Dorm room, one bed already claimed whilst the other was left to myself. And the only thing I did whilst alone was ruminate. In this case, on the day's events.
Atop a distant mountain Uncle Ethan sat whilst I was greeted by Peter, watching with the scrutiny of a punishment-happy parent waiting for their child to taboo.
It was thinly veiled threats between my brother and I, whilst he was the current Grand Caster of our family and awarded the funds required to enter Bellafonte, I would tear the role from him with my teeth if I had to.
Still, as a caster entering his second year, Uncle Ethan would not have been able to intervene before my skull was cooked with a well placed fireball nor my brain reduced to slurry by any of his Psionomantic spells.
But Peter was a child to the staff of Bellafonte. And unauthorised combat between casters was not just prohibited but struck down with an iron fist backed by multiple centuries of unrivaled magical power.
Not even a child such as Peter would be willing to get on the bad side of Elizabeth Bellafonte.
A foot collided with the brick of my dorm wall at the thought of her. It hurt yes, but not more than the sting of rejection and, more significantly, regret that she had released onto my shoulders.
Her speech, whilst uninspiring and sounding little more than routine for her, was supposed to give me an in. I had sought her out afterwards, chasing after her like a baby with a blanket.
A slew of platitudes and flattery that I had been taught by Michelle fell on unimpressed ears. Her expression was not only sour but disappointed at my attempt.
"Please. Tutor me." I had begged her in earnest and received only a curious look followed with,
"I'm afraid Tutor selection is not for two weeks, come see me again when they start."
My expression contorted to a cringe at the thought of ruining my only chance at a first impression. Overconfident, I was. I'd assumed that my status would allow me priviledges kept from other students.
Fuck.
The door behind me opened and I nearly jumped from my skin. My aura flared as a spiral of divine energy spun around my body whilst crystalline growths reminiscient of gemstones formed a sawing edge within the stream, ready to rip and flay anything that came in contact to it.
But it was no threat I saw, not a sibling nor someone with any degree of bloodlust at all.
Just a rather short girl. She didn't mind me at all and walked in with a degree of familiarity I could only assume would belong to one other person.
My new roommate.
I took her in, her tan skin, cascading white strands of hair that appeared finer than the richest of silks that the wealthy could own, the way they ran over her… sizeable and uncovered breasts.
My eyes flicked upwards, away from her assets and the rest of her seemingly nude body.
Only then did I notice the crown of black and blue she wore, lines of deep navy traced the edges of the crown whilst black metal filled in the gaps.
"hI-" My voice caught in my throat, shooting up an octave, "Ahem- Hi, I'm Carol." And held out a hand.
She giggled and smiled, amusing herself with my misstep.
"Yuri." She imitated my posture, straightening her back and puffing her chest out before stiffly shaking my hand up and down.
Where her skin met mine, electricity crackled, running up my arm and lodging itself firmly in my heart which beat faster than before.
I wanted to make a good impression this time.
Her eyes jumped from my face to my hand to my face to my hand before I realised I hadn't let go.
An awkward smile graced my lips, attempting to play off the mistake like a joke with a small chuckle.
She played along, chuckling in kind.
A duo of voices trailed down the hallway towards our room, a muffled discussion between the two.
Yuri took note,"Whelp, I gotta go. See ya," and performed a lazy two fingered salute before sauntering out of the room only for the moment the door to close, it reopened, this time behind which was Naga, the Epidromancy Tutor.
Oh, not just Naga.
Alongside her was a girl in dark clothes who had paused mid sentence once she'd realised that there was someone else watching her. There was a deep eeriness about her features, like they were artificial or fake in some way. The way the moment the light hit her eyes, the forest green hue shifted to an uncharacteristically bright one. Her hair was long, black and straight and hung over her face.
"Oh wonderful, your roomate is already here." She chirped before pausing, "Unless you of course choose to spend your nights in someone elses room." She smiled inwards at the thought.
It took the girl a moment to get her bearings as she realised I was in the dorm room, at which point she straightened herself out and patted off her skirt.
"Thank you, Miss Naga." She muttered as a faint blush crept onto her cheeks, her voice reminded me of honey in some way, the way it was rich and dark yet viscous, it took time for her words to leave her mouth but I could tell that she spoke from deep in her throat.
"No problem, Love, have fun getting to know each other!" She called before returning to wherever she had come from.
Once the rush of Teacher interaction had faded away, a thick blanket of unfamiliarity draped over the room.
"I was under the assumption that there were only two people per room." I announced.
The girl's head swept from side to side, looking around as if searching for anyone else.
The dorm was by no means cramped, it had space for a desk each and a bed on either side. Both were built from a rather mundane looking wood. Perhaps it was silly of me to expect everything at Bellafonte to be magical in some capacity but atop each desk rested a lamp with a bending metal stalk, a notebook with the school's logo; an ornate curving capital B bisected with a swooping S-shape in gold, and a matching pen.
The design ethos of the entire Teaching accommodation building was rather simple in that it was a series of three rectangles of equal length connected in a C-shape with the parallel ones being at right angles to the third and a courtyard sitting in the middle.
Everything seemed to be of wood or red brick, a strangely nostalgic look for a building of the modern day to have, but then again, Bellafonte was old.
"Oh." The girl responded without much surprise in her voice, "No its just us."
"Are you sure?" I suddenly wasn't sure if this was my room. I was certain I'd read it right but at this point I wasn't sure I could trust my own competence.
The girl didn't move, her eyes just flicked from each side of the room until she'd come to a decision.
Then to mine, that piercing green boring into my gaze. "I think so."
She’d sat down on the bed that had already been claimed since before I arrived, the one with a few stuffed animals and articles of clothing. It looked like she’d been here for a while, but the semester only started today, so why?
Springs squeaked under her weight and she let out a sigh of relief. A relief from what though? The travel? The process? General exhaustion?
All of a sudden I wasn't feeling the most alert myself. Perhaps I'd deluded myself to the degree at which I could operate.
The sun hadn't set and the day wasn't over yet, I'd just rest for a bit. My back hit the mattress and my head bounced.
"I'm Carol by the way," Maybe I'd see Yuri around later, she might have been mistaken.
I didn't get a response for a couple long moments and I was certain she'd fallen asleep.
"Corporea."
"Nice to meet you."